Google Drive Now Available for GWemail Users

The new online storage service will enhance collaboration and data access university-wide.

November 02, 2012

George Washington’s Division of Information Technology recently announced that Google’s new collaboration tool Google Drive™ is available for all faculty and staff GWemail users.

Google Drive is Google’s new online storage service that works in tandem with Google Docs for added convenience, seamless storage and access to data between multiple devices. Google Drive can be accessed from both PC and Mac computers as well as a number of mobile devices. Click here for more information. drive.google.com/start.

The storage service is part of Google’s Apps for Education package, which protects how data are stored and improves educational institutions’ ability to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of files.

“Today most of the university community is staying connected 24/7,” said David Steinour, chief information officer. “Google Drive enables students, faculty and staff to quickly share documents on a wide variety of platforms, provide feedback and edits in a real-time capacity and work with collaborators from across many different geographic and organizational areas.”

Mr. Steinour said the Division of IT continues to evaluate cloud services like Google Drive alongside more traditional tools in order to provide the most secure and reliable services to the GW community.

For security purposes, Google Drive for PC and Mac should never be used on public or shared computers. Users also should take precautions to fully understand who has shared access to any files that are uploaded to Google Drive, and that some types of data should not be stored or transmitted in Google Apps. Click here for more information about the Google Drive service, including frequently asked questions, resources and reference guidelines.

Users can also contact the IT Support Center at 202-994-GWIT (4948), ithelp@gwu.edu or http://itsupport.gwu.edu. Technical assistance is available through the IT Support Center 24 hours a day.